Ties
by IdIoTiC-FrEaK-Of-NaTuRe
Summary: Abused by his mother, abandoned by his father, convinced he killed his girlfriend and sister, Fang Jacobs' only reason left to live are two young girls. When they are taken from him, will Fang fight for them, and learn the true meaning of happiness?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I had this Idea and thought it was kind of cool. So, I wanted to try it, and I sort of see it working. Here's the Full summery.**

_**I'd been alone, lost... okay fine not really alone, and I knew where I was. But that's not the point. The point is this: It was a mistake, nothing but a huge mark in my past. But it's that one mark that ruined my life. My name is Fang. This is my story. The story of my life, my past, my future. Those two kids, they were keeping me right, proper. If I lost them, I don't know what would happen. But it was **_**her**_**. Her that made me realize. But I'd screwed up. My past will always follow me, I know that much. There's no way of getting rid of it. Nothing I can do. But... Then again... nothing I Can't.**_

**Almost Sort Of Based on the songs Not Afraid, No Love, Like Toy Soldiers, 25 To Life and Space Bound by Eminem. I don't own the songs or any characters from Max Ride.**

**PS: I'm not sure if Fang's car actually does have four seats. But It's a **_**beautiful **_**car. So Let's just pretend it does okay.**

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Fang POV

The memories came rushing back to me, like they always did. It kept getting farther, going farther into my past. The past I'd been desperately trying to forget, For their sake. They didn't deserve to be a part of my past, didn't need to. Not in the things I've done.

But the memories still came. Some were more vivid then others, but they came, waking me up in the middle of the night to a cold sweat. I would look around frantically, then, not seeing anyone, lay back down, taking hours for me to go back to sleep.

I got up one night, not trusting what would happen if I went to sleep. I looked over at Them. They were on the bed they shared, sleeping peacefully. I smiled, despite myself. I sat, watching them for minuets, maybe hours, wondering, _After everything, what did I do to deserve them?_

I hesitantly fell back to sleep. Sure enough, the memories rushed behind my eyelids. Sirens, screaming, the smell of something burning, the faint crackling of fire.

_I ran into the burning building, ignoring the shouts from the firefighters behind me. I had to get up there. I stepped into what was left of the two story house. Smoke filled my lungs, making me cough. Which made me breath in more smoke, which made me cough more, making it a repetitive process._

_But still I went, up the stairs, through the flames and pitch black smoke. I heard crying, and gasped, making me cough harder. I pushed through the smoke, the crying getting louder._

"_Jay!" I yelled, coughing some more. "Jay where are you!" I heard the crying settle at a volume, instantly knowing she was in her parents room. I grabbed the knob, my hand burning at the heat. I stepped back, ramming the door with my shoulder. It fell, smoke clearing out of the door way. Jay was huddled off to the side, I crossed the room, lifting her up. I held her close to me protectively. She was holding her sister, two year old Maya. I inhaled more smoke, coughing as I tried to get back outside. The roof cracked, and I ran even faster. I just barely made it out as the roof caved in, the whole house falling to the ground._

_The two girls in my arms continued crying, and I whispered to Jay, who was old enough to understand me, at nine. "Shh... It's okay, you guys are safe now." That just made her cry harder. She was only nine, but no matter how young that is... she knew the truth. Her parents were gone. They had no one. They would have to be sent somewhere, to foster care, where they might be split up. "Shh... Everything's going to be okay."_

_One of the paramedics rushed over, taking Maya and hooking her up to a mask. She came back to do the same to Jay, but she wouldn't let go of me. I just held her, then, after a few minutes, said quietly, "Go with the nice lady, she's going to help you. I'll be there in a minute." Slowly, she nodded, releasing my shirt. The same paramedic came back to me with a smoke mask, and I took it, breathing into it, feeling clean air go into my lungs. One of the police came up to me._

"_That was very brave, I don't know if I could've done that. Risked my life for some kids." That's just it, these weren't just _some kids._ These were the two people I cared about with my life. I couldn't lose them. Not like I've lost..._

_No. No Fang, don't think about it. _

_I looked back up at the cop. It's been this business I've been running from for the past two years. Before... before _IT_ happened. Finally, looking over at Jay, I said, "You never know. Maybe you would've."_

That was arguably one of the best memories. I looked over at Jay and Maya, who were eating cereal at the table. We never talked about it, that day, two years ago. The day they lost everything. Maya smiled at me, her brown eyes sparkling. "Daddy!" She cried, jumping up and hugging me. I smiled, kissing her forehead. She was only four, and didn't remember the fire. I wasn't their dad, but she was four, I didn't have the heart to tell her. Jay smiled at me, and I gave her a one armed hug. She kind of remembered, but still thought of me as her dad.

"Get ready." I said, and she nodded, going to get her backpack. Maya reached for me, and I picked her up. "What are you going to do with Nana today?" I asked. She smiled, helping me put hers and her sisters dishes in the dishwasher.

"Nana said movie." She said, handing me a bowl. I smiled.

"Wow. Cool." Jay came back, her backpack slung over one shoulder, mine over the other. What! I was eighteen, graduating this year, but I still had to _go_ to school. During the morning, we were all at school. After lunch, Iggy's mom had volunteered to watch Maya until my school got out. Now, you ask, why don't the two just live with my parents? Well, the girls trust me with their lives. No one else. And plus, my parents don't actually _know_ I'm have them.

I'll explain later. So I look after the girls, but Maya goes to Iggy's whenever I'm at school. I was covered, finance wise, by my aunt. She'd offered to take the girls, but they'd trusted me most, so she said she would pay bills for me until I started working. She was loaded, being a lawyer, married to a doctor, so it didn't make me feel as bad for the money.

I took my bag from Jay, putting it on, helping Maya with her shoes, then ushered them out of the door. We got into my black 2007 Jaguar XKR convertible. Jay absolutely _loves_ this car. She got into the seat behind me, buckling in. I turned to face them. "Ya ready to go." The both nodded. I smirked, turning the key. The engine purred, and I pulled out of the driveway, feeling the familiar smooth drive, as I drove to their school.

"Bye Daddy." Maya smiled at me, waving. I waved back. Jay took her hand, leading her to the kindergarten area. I watched as she went in, before driving off.

Their school was only a few minutes from mine. I was early, there was maybe eight-ish minutes till first bell. I saw Iggy, Lissa and Nudge talking in our usual spot. Iggy and Nudge were dating, and Lissa liked me. But I didn't — couldn't — like her back. None of them, except for Iggy, were really my 'friends'. Me and Nudge were cool, sure, but not friends, _acquaintances._

I don't make friends. I can't. Not after the last time I did. Not after the mistake.

Maybe I should explain...

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It was four years ago. I was 14. I was at the bus stop, waiting, minding my own business, when this girl approached me. She smiled, and I'd slightly smiled back. I turned to go back waiting, but then she started... doing things. At first it was little things, she'd touch my arm, or breath on the back of my neck. But then, she looked at me, and jumped me. She'd started kissing me, and strangely, I couldn't stop. After what felt like forever, she pulled back. But I wanted more, needed more. She took me to her house, and the a little voice in the back of my head told me this was a bad idea.

Little did I know how right it was at the time. And maybe if I'd listened to it... maybe none of... no..

So... continuing..

_There were four more guys in the room. Big guys, like hulk worthy. They had a frightening aura coming from them, and I knew that I shouldn't be there. I tried to back out of it, but they wouldn't let me. I couldn't call the cops, they probably would've killed me and ran. So I stayed. I admit; it was the _worst_ decision I have ever made. Turns out, they were part of a gang. I'm not going to tell you the name, due to the fact that I do not want to have to relive everything related to the name, and for the fact that the name would have you sleeping with a nightlight for another twelve years._

_Yeah. It's _that _bad._

_So, they forced me to join the gang, and I did. It wasn't that bad, we'd hang around, smoke mostly, and scare little kids. Harmless crap._

_But then everything changed._

_There was an... incident. A different group came onto our territory, against rules, and as a response, we fought. It was brutal. Knives were drawn, blood was shed. I'd killed someone that day. I remember his face clearly, his eyes rolling back after I'd stabbed him, forcefully, in the gut, color draining from his face, his blood flowing out onto my hand. I remember how I _felt_, the rush it gave me. It made me unstoppable. It made me the best. The best of the best. We'd got into more trouble, vandalizing buildings, robberies, assaults. But I loved it, and it overpowered that little voice that was telling me I needed to stop. _

_But then she came. _

_There was a girl. She was brought into the gang, the same way I was, and we'd broken the number one rule: don't ever make a friendship. We'd did exactly that. We were really close, we stay up for hours at a time, talking and laughing and messing around, until early in the morning. _

_I'd loved her._

_I figured it out after a few months. She loved me too, and we got together. Joey; our leader, had told us it was a bad idea, and that we shouldn't have dated unless we were ready to get hurt._

_We didn't listen._

_I admit, that wasn't very smart for us to do, but we did anyways. It had been a year and a half since I joined the gang. A year exactly since me and Paige had started dating. We were still going strong, even after a year, until that day... That day that changed everything._

_There was a fight, and we'd gone, to help Joey, and the rest of the guys. Almost an hour in, we were winning. It was a fair fight; fist only; until one guy whipped out a knife. He was fighting Paige, and she instantly stopped, knowing she couldn't fight him now. I pushed the guy I was fighting off of me, and ran to them. He cornered her. I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. I got to them in time to see him stab her in the stomach, then pull back and stab her again, before running off. I got to her, catching her as she fell. I pulled off my shirt, pressing it to her stomach. Her head was on my shoulder, her eyes slowly drifting closed._

"_No, come on Paige. You have to stay awake. Come on." I pleaded, trying to stop the blood._

"_F-Fang." She said quietly. "I love you. But move on from this. Okay?" I looked at her._

"_I'm not forgetting Paige. I love you." I leaned down to kiss her once, pulled back, and barley heard her whisper:_

"_Bye Fang." before going limp in my arms. I was covered in blood, her blood._

But I never forgot.

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Well, there it is. Yeah, it's kind of just getting to know Fang. And why he does what he does. I think that went well, I might change up a little first, then repost this. But I like it as is right now. So, I think I'm going to continue with this story, because it reminds me of how things don't always go as planned, but we just have to roll with it.

**So, Can you please review, telling me if you agree or disagree with me, and if you think I should continue with the story.**

**Oh. And has anyone noticed the tattoo Eminem has of his daughter. It's so… fatherly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here it is. Thanks for the reviews. I changed the summary, thought I should let you know. And this is pretty much how the rest of the story is going to go, Fang's POV one time, then Max's then Fang's again. OH! And when you finish reading this, check out my other story Love, Life and Music.**

**So let me stop talking now, and get on with things.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to James Patterson, except for Jay and Maya, who belong to me. **

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So hard to breathe this air that we call love,  
ain't nothing worse than the hurt we receive from love,  
when you get hurt by the one you living for,  
Pain can make you wanna love no more,

**Max POV**

Just another new school. No big, right? Right. Only difference, it's half way through the first semester of senior year. I sighed and heard my dad's words run through my head: JUST TRY AND MAKE FRIENDS MAX. Huh. It's not always that easy dad.

I took a deep breath, adjusting my bag again and stepped into the office. Walking up to the front desk, the secretary looked up from her Sudoku game.

"Hi, I'm new, I'm supposed to get my schedule?" It was a statement, but it came out as more of a question. The secretary looked me up and down, her piercing blue eyes locking with mine for a second.

"Name?" She demanded, dropping her stare.

"Maximum Ride." I answered slowly, shifting on each foot. She rolled the chair over to a drawer, flicking through envelopes. When she'd finally found the right one, she handed it to me.

"Inside that is your locker number, combination, your schedule, and library card." I nodded, thanking her, retreating from the office. I stopped down the hall, pulling out the first sheet, locker information. Looking at what number it was, 262, I headed up the stairs, following the locker numbers until I finally reached mine. Staring at the combination, I spun the knob, finally hearing the click, pulling the locker open. Putting my other shoes inside, I closed it back, looking at my schedule. I had Math, room 214. I looked up at the closest room number, then followed down the hall. 220, 218, 216, I finally arrived, knocking on the door.

"Is this Mr. Pearson's class?" I asked, looking at the teacher. He looked to be about 30, with glossy brown hair, brown eyes and tan skin. He nodded, beckoning me to come in.

"Yeah, that's me. How can I help you?"

"I'm in your class?" Another statement made question. The class all looked up at me, and I realized I had interrupted their working. Mr. Pearson went to his desk, picking up a piece of paper.

"Maximum?" He asked.

"Max." I corrected. "Just Max." He nodded, smiling at me and extended a hand.

"Hi, Max. I'm Mr. Pearson." I shook his hand firmly, a small grin on my face as well. "Actually, you got here just in time. We were just about to talk. Why don't you introduce yourself a little, then go and sit beside Krystal?" I shrugged, going to stand up at the front, all eyes on me. I looked to the girl I was supposed to sit beside after, seeing a pretty mocha coloured girl, with hazel eyes and light blue… everything on.

"Alright, Max. Floor is yours." Mr. Pearson said, enthusiastically. I tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

"Um… okay." I said, straightening up. "Hi… my name is Max Ride, I'm 18 and just moved here from Forest Hill. I'm into sports and I like to listen to music. But I can't cook to save my life." I finished, leaning back on the desk behind me. Then, just for good measure, added: "and I know I can't cook, or bake, or do _anything _in the kitchen, but I'm more of a fighter than you and I can kick your ass." I said that specifically looking at the jock in front of me, who was eyeing me up and down.

That defiantly caught the attention of the class, especially the girl I was supposed to sit next to, who brought a fist to her lips, a smile behind it. The class had thirty seconds to recover before the bell rang.

"Oh… Well that's the bell. Have a good day everyone." Mr. Pearson dismissed us, and the class picked up their things, filing out. "Max." I turned around to look at him. "Nice one." He grinned, a smile lighting up his face. I instantly knew I would like this guy.

"Thanks." I said, a small smile creeping up. I readjusted my bag, heading out the door.

"OMG! That was completely BA, it's not even funny!" The girl was waiting for me when I got out. "Hi, I'm Krystal, but most people just call me Nudge or Kristy, or Chris . You can too if you want." She frowned. "I have a lot of nicknames." She laughed slightly. I shrugged, looking at my schedule. "Hey, what do you have now?"

"Um… Geography." I said finally.

"I have that too, do you want me to show you where it is? It's okay if you don't." I shook my head.

"No, I could use all the help I can get right about now."

"Okay, let's go then." She began walking, and I followed her, falling into step. "So, tell me about your old house, friends? Boyfriends?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"One. His name was Corey." I glanced at the students passing us in the halls. "He was perfect: nice, funny, great hair." I shook my head.

"What happened?"

"He was shot. One kid brought a gun to school, and was shooting at all of the jocks, cause some of the footballers beat him up."

"Was Corey one of the guys who did it?" I shook my head, a tear falling down my cheek.

"No. He wasn't even there. But the day of the shooting, he was coming to pick me up from class, and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Nudge wrapped her arms around me, a comforting gesture. "Thanks."

"You said you moved from Forest Hill, a friend of mine came from there too. You'll probably see him around, if not at lunch. But he rarely talks, so…"

"Is your friend a rich kid? All the houses up there were really pricey, everyone's parents were rich." She nodded.

"His dad was a lawyer, most of his family were really wealthy. But he didn't think of himself as rich, or better than anyone. He still doesn't. Oh, we're here." I looked at the room, we'd come to, not noticing we had crossed the school, ending at the Geography room. We both entered the class, going immediately into introductions and work.

The next class I didn't have with Nudge, so I was pretty much alone. Then it was lunch. I was wandering, until:

"Oof." I said as I bumped into someone, "Sorry." I looked up to see a blond boy standing over me. He held out his hand, and I took it, as he hoisted me up.

"It's okay. Were you going to the cafeteria?" I nodded. "Same. I'll take you, you can sit with me and my friends. I'm James Ignatius. But mostly everyone calls me Iggy." Just then, the mocha girl from before ran up to him.

"Come on slowpoke, I actually wanna eat something. Oh. I remember you. But I'm so sorry, I can't remember what you wanted us to call you."

"Max. Max Ride."

"Okay, hi Max. You wanna sit with us at lunch." I shrugged. "Great. You are going to love Blake, after the smell dies down, but we all call him Gazzy, you'll find out why. And Lissa." We were outside of the doors to the cafeteria now. I was about to push them open when Iggy stopped me.

"Wait. There's one more thing I should tell you." I raised an eyebrow. "Fang."

"He's the dark haired one. He doesn't talk much, so don't be offended if he doesn't respond. But he's really sweet once your around him for awhile. But he doesn't trust Anyone. But it's not a bad thing. I mean he trusts Iggy and he makes acquaintances. But he doesn't trust trust anyone. Like NO one. It's because of his g-" she stopped herself. "—these two kids. He loves them with his life, you'll probably see him with one of them after school. But it's a total mood change. So just go in say hi, and you heard NOTHING about the kids. Got it." I nodded, opening the doors. They led me to a table, and Nudge introduced me. "Guys this is Max. She's new. So be nice." I waved slightly, sitting down beside her. The dark haired one, Fang, was watching me. I looked to where the blond younger boy was talking to Iggy about some bomb.

The bell rang, and I found I had science. After a little bit of wandering, I found room 318. I opened the door, looking for the teacher.

"Ahh. You must be Max. Just take a seat beside Mr. Jacobs, put your hand up Nick," The dark haired boy from before just nodded to me. I went to sit down, glancing at him once. I could see his well defined arms from his shirt. He caught me staring at him and smirked.

"See something ya like?" he asked quietly, the smirk still on his face. I looked at his face, noticing his black eyes.

"I thought you didn't talk." I asked, watching the teacher.

"I don't." he whispered. I looked at him again, but his face was emotionless. I looked at my notebook again, listening to the teacher.

A few hours later, it was time to go home. I walked out with Nudge and Iggy, laughing at Nudge's ramble about some essay she had. Fang barley smiled, but I saw the corners of mouth twitch up. Suddenly, a little girl came running up to Fang.

"Daddy!" Nudge elbowed me, and I looked at her.

"Watch him." she nodded at Fang. He had her in a hug, half smiling. She was right, he was a completely different person now.

"Hey. How was school." he asked, holding her hand as we all went to our separate cars.

"'Totally Sucking' doesn't describe it." he laughed, shaking his head. The girl seemed to notice me. She tugged on Fangs shirt. "Daddy who is that." Fang looked at me.

"Oh right. Jay," Iggy helped. "Jay this is Max, our new friend. Max, this is Jayden. Fangs… daughter." there was a hesitance as he called her his daughter. I nodded.

"Hi."

"Totally awkward." Nudge muttered. Fangs lips twitched again. We reached our cars, and got into them, saying our goodbyes, then racing our separate ways.

The drive home for me was a thoughtful one. This might not actually be such a bad school. Iggy and Nudge seem cool, and Fang is a very… interesting person. The kind of guy who I actually wanted to learn more about. The little girl looked nothing like him. And he was eighteen, but the kid was twelve. There was no way she was his. But she called him Daddy. Maybe it was his sister. I made a note to ask Iggy tomorrow. I pulled up at my driveway, seeing my dad's car parked. I went inside the house, putting my bag on the floor.

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So, I'm sorry if that didn't make any sense whatsoever. I really wanted to get this chapter up, so I just sort of put everything I already had written, together.

**So, do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you think George is the coolest monkey in the world? Let me know!**

**Oh, and question of the day: If you were going to die tomorrow, what is one thing you would really want to do? Anything is possible here.**

**LOL, this chapter has 2010 words. That's funny.**

—**Idiotic-Freak**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! I hope you all enjoyed your first month of 2011! Anyways, as a special 'finally, this month is done' present, here's a chapter. And it's in Fang's POV. That's good, right. Personally, I like writing in Fang's POV better then Max's. Just because I tend to put a lot more detail in Fang then I do with Max, and I don't know why.**

**Anyways, I hope you all had wonderful holidays, and that none of you are stuck with the amount of homework I have. That's actually the whole reason this wasn't up. When I got back to school, we were loaded with projects: a math survey, a immigration book, a picture book, and a music play to be exact.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Maximum Ride. All characters belong to James Patterson. None of the lyrics used in this song belong to me either. The lyrics used in this chapter belong to the amazing Eminem. The lyrics from the last chapter belong to Dirty Money.**

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_I don't know, I don't know what caused,  
I don't know what caused me to be this way  
I don't know, I don't know,  
but I probably be this way till my dying day  
I don't know why I'm so,  
I'm so cold beat bangs, I don't need to say  
I guess this is how you made me_

**Fang POV**

"Daddy!" Maya jumped into my arms. I let a smile cross my face, looking down at her shining blue eyes.

"Hello, Nick." Mrs Parker walked out behind her.

"Thanks for watching her. She was okay, right?" I asked slowly, looking down at Maya, who nodded.

"Oh she was an angel, as always." Iggy's mom assured me. I placed Maya on the ground, watching as she ran to the car, before reaching into my pocket for my wallet. "No, Nick." Hey hand snapped out to stop mine. "I told you, I don't want your money."

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Okay then… Thanks for watching her, anyways." She smiled at me, a true motherly smile. A smile that any mother _should_ give. "Iggy's over at Krystal's, he said he'd be home in an hour." She nodded again, waving at my retreating form. I quickly made sure Maya was buckled in properly, putting the key into the ignition. Once we got back home, Jay immediately went to her room, to go do her homework; Maya followed me to the kitchen.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked, sitting on the chair. She frowned, thinking for a bit, before she blurted:

"Ice cream!" I let a smile appear on my lips again. She reminds me so much of Angel.

"Maybe if you're good, we can have ice cream for dessert." I reasoned. She nodded, going to watch TV. I slowly walked into Jay's room, seeing her on her bed, cross-legged. She had a book between her legs, her head ducked, light brown hair blocking her face from sight.

"Sweetie?" I knocked once. Her head snapped up, her eyes searching my face.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"What do you want for dinner?" She shrugged, closing her book. I raised a brow.

"Mac 'n' Cheese, please." She finally answered. I nodded, turning to leave. "Wait, daddy!" I looked back over my shoulder at her. "That girl, Max, are you two friends?" She asked innocently.

Max, I thought. The new girl that was checking me out in class today. Turning my attention back to Jay, I shrugged. "I barley know her."

"Well," she smiled at me, making her looked older then eleven. "I think you guys should go out. She's pretty. You would look cute together." I almost laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind." I assured her, hoping she would drop it. "Dinner will be ready soon." Nodding, she reopened her book, lowering her head once more. Closing her door softly behind me, I thought about what she'd just said. Then laughed slightly, shaking my head.

"What's daddy laughing at?" Maya asked, skipping up to me. "I wanna laugh with daddy."

"It nothing, sweetie," I picked her up. "We're making Mac 'n' Cheese." I grinned at her. She beamed excitedly. "Come on, help me set up." She nodded, and together we made our way to the kitchen, preparing dinner and setting the table.

A few hours later, both girls were finally in bed, leaving me to roam the house. It was only about 10:30, and I couldn't find it in me to be tired. Eventually, I found myself in bed, staring at the ceiling, dreading going to sleep. It came, slowly, and I found myself unconscious, no horrid memory rushing behind my eyes.

Strange.

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"I think he's gay…" Another girl whispered as I passed through the halls.

"I know right, he doesn't even bother _looking_ at girls." I smirked, my hands in my pockets, head down. I'm not gay, as previously noted. None of the girls here caught my eye. Even though I highly doubt that anyone other than Paige would manage to accomplish that.

"Guys, he's not gay, so stop it. He just doesn't like any of you. Leave him alone will you." Nudge's voice rang through their conversation. "Hey, Fang." I tilted my head slightly, looking at her through the corner of my eyes. Then nodded. Nudge, already familiar with my silence, continued, "So, what do you think of the new girl, Max?" I thought about the small, one way conversation Jay and I had had last night. "She seems nice. Ya know, not like _all_ _the other girls _at our school." I waited as she backtracked. "Well, _mostly_ all of them."

"She's okay." I finally spoke, my voice quiet. Nudge nodded, falling silent beside me.

"Well, I have to go now, see you at lunch, Fang." I nodded, my form of a parting wave, and watched briefly as she turned and walked the opposite way. Turning the corner, I reached my locker, pulling out the stuff I needed for next class.

"Hey." A voice said beside me. "It's Nick, right?" I turned to face the voice. Opening the locker beside mine, was Max. "We sort of met yesterday. I'm Max."

"Fang." I said simply. She looked startled at my name, but I shrugged it off, pushing the shoes and change of clothing into my bag.

"Oh. Well, hi Fang. I guess we're locker neighbours, huh?" I shrugged, not looking at her, reaching to the top shelf. "You don't talk much do you, Mr. Jacobs?" I glanced at her once, wondering where she had heard my name before, then remembered it was how Mr. Pearson had introduced me yesterday.

"Nope." I replied flatly. Closing my locker door, I turned to Max. She was leaning on her shoulder, arms crossed over her chest, staring at me.

_Paige used to do that…_ I shook the thought out of my head.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked, curiosity lacing through her voice. I shrugged again. "That little girl," I froze. "Is she your sister?" Hesitating for almost a full minute, I finally shook my head. "Cousin?" Once again, I shook my head. "Then how is she possibly related to you, cause there is _no freaking way_ you… produced her. She's like 12."

"Don't worry about it." I said simply, turning to leave.

"Hey!" I could hear the soft pounding of her steps as she caught up to me. "I don't mean to intrude, I was just… curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Max." She paused, and I felt her glaring at my back.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a cat, isn't it Nick." I shrugged. "I'm not getting an answer out of you, am I?" I shook my head, a small smirk on my face. "Fine. See you around then, Nicholas." I laughed slightly.

"See you, Kitty." I muttered over my shoulder. Continuing to the gym, I entered the locker room, grimacing at the putrid smell of overused Axe. Quickly changing, I walked into the gym, seeing the girls over at the bleachers, the guys flexing and laughing at something idiotic.

"Hey, dude." I turned to Iggy, nodding. Gym started a few moments later, and we were all directed outside to the track. I winced slightly, not wanting to do this. We all lined up, only ten of the guys in the first set. I was one of them.

"Once around, your time will be tracked once you cross." The teacher said tonelessly. He blew his whistle, and we started running. I was running lightly, whereas most of the others were full on sprinting.

The sad thing: we were tied.

This one guy glared at me, pulling ahead of me. My competitive side got the better of me, and I began running faster, pumping my arms harder, getting ahead of him again. I heard him gasp, and then I realized who he was. Chris Owens, track star. And I had long since passed him. After the first bend, he had caught up to me, and we were head-to-head for most of the bend. He passed me about halfway, but I used the final straight to gain speed. I passed him, then sprinting the rest of the way to the end. Jaws dropped as I crossed, Owens finishing 10 seconds later, putting his hands on his knees, out of breath.

I sat down on the grass, watching as the other sets went. Once the period was done, me and Iggy walked back into the building, into the lockers. Owens was still glaring at me, but I ignored him.

"_Nicky!" _I groaned at the high, squeaky voice. Iggy laughed, and we kept walking, our pace quickening. Now remember what I said about Lissa liking me, but we wouldn't ever actually go out. Yeah, thing is, Lissa _got the point._

But then there was Brigit. She was your average popular girl: cheerleader, blonde, squeaky annoying voice, dated pretty much every guy on any team in the school —probably slept with about half of them— has a posse of wannabe Brigit's, and she got surgery on at least two parts of her body. That kind of thing.

_And she likes me. _(Read: She thinks I'm hot so she wants to get in my pants A.S.A.P.) (Re. Read: She stalks me _every single day,_ even though I've told her the chances of me dating her are about the same as the chances of a meteor hitting my house.) (Re. Re. Read: Not happening.)

But does she leave me alone? No.

"Nicky!" She squealed, her heels clicking against the tiles. Crowds in the hallway parted, as if she were Queen. Her little crew, consisting of Janice, Sky and Karla, followed closely behind.

"Leave him alone, Brigit. He. Doesn't. Like. You. Get over it." Iggy said, clearly annoyed. Ignoring him completely, Brigit turned to me, pushing her chest against me. I glared at her, stepping back. She pouted, sticking an overly glossed lip out.

"But Nicky..." She whined.

"Leave him alone, slut!" A new voice entered the hallway. Heads turned to see, who else, Max, walking up to us. She came to stand beside me, arms across her chest, her eyes cold.

"Look here Newbie." Brigit briefly forgot about me, turning to Max. "I'm queen here, and _no one _talks to me like that." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, she clearly just did." Iggy spoke up, a smirk on his face. Brigit's face went red, her hands curling into fists.

"Whatever," she put her hand on my chest, "Let's blow this joint, ditch these losers." I could sense there was a double meaning to the first part of that sentence, but chose to ignore it. Instead, I watch for a second as her manicured nails traced down my chest, reaching the bottom of my shirt and began playing with the hem.

"Brigit, I said no." I stepped back, glaring at her.

"Ugh!" She stomped her foot down, throwing a child-like fit, and effectively breaking the heel on her shoe. She pouted, looking down. Iggy and Max tried to stifle their laughter, while I felt my lips twitch. I looked away, but saw Brigit flip us the bird. Her posse followed suit, storming off behind their leader. The crowd in the hallway had long since cleared, knowing it was just another of Brigit's attempted at landing a guy. Iggy and Max broke out laughing, recalling the last five minutes.

I shook my head, leaving them to it, walking out of the hallway, going to my next class. Ugh. It's still not lunch yet.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

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**Anyways back to the story: Thanks for reading. I think next chapter with be more Max getting to know Fang. Even though I'm supposed to be working on a project that is due in like three days, I've decided to update this. That's just how much I love you all.**

**P.S. The chances of a meteor landing on your house are ****182,138,880,000,000 to 1. Meaning Fang isn't going out with Brigit anytime soon.**

—**Idiotic Freak**

Want to know what's extremely aggravating? When I want to watch a movie, and _**I can't find it!**_** See, here I am, trying to watch ****8 Mile;**** the movie with Eminem in it. And I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. But, eventually, I was able to watch it on this site (name of it was forgotten) and then later get it on iTunes. So, now, I can freely watch it without being extremely pissed off.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, 79 visitors and only 8 reviews. :( But I love writing this, and I'm getting legit responses from my school. I posted this on our little school Moodle thingamajig, and it's been getting some pretty cool feedback. So, I'm here jamming to JB songs. Tell me why, when I'm supposed to be doing something important.**

**Things start next chapter, so be prepared. I have a history project to finish (got most of it done like just now.), and I encourage everyone to pray for those in Japan effected by the tsunami. Anyways, not much to say for the rest of the blurb, so I'm just going to skip to the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Maximum Ride, I only own the plot, and any characters I make up. The lyrics used in this story belong to their rightful owners, and I have no intention to take them, I just think they're awesome.**

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_So be careful what you wish for_  
_'Cause you just might get it_  
_And if you get it then you just might not know_  
_What to do wit' it, 'cause it might just_  
_Come back on you ten-fold_

**Max POV**

"Max! Over here." I smiled and walked over to Iggy, Nudge and Gazzy, (I figured out why they call him that. Gross!) who were hanging on the wall a little way away from everybody else. During my second week here, I'd learned that Iggy and his friends were probably the most normal group of people ever. Well, excusing his and Gazzy's scary obsession to fire and explosives.

"Hey, I like your sweater." I looked down at my red/white/black diamond sweater with the brown panther across the sleeve. Thanking him, I took in how they were all wearing colours of a school (either the one we go to now or one from before.) While Iggy and Gazzy were wearing jackets from this school, Nudge had on a headband and sweater with a penguin on it. We got to talking before Iggy yelled out: "Yo Fang!"

"You seem overly loud today," I noted. He flashed me a bright smile, clasping hands with Fang, who was wearing his school stuff too. I recognized it a little too well. _Corey had the same one..._

"You went to FH?" I asked quietly. He nodded.

"3-8, then grade 9. I moved here mid grade 10." There was a slight hint of anger in his voice, along with something else I couldn't place. Not many would've noticed it, but I could just tell. Nodding, I said good-bye, just as the bell rang.

Iggy and Fang fell behind slightly, going unnoticed by Gazzy and Nudge as they continued talking.

"Did you get any sleep last night, as opposed to last week?" I heard Iggy ask, barely a whisper. I tried to ignore them, but curiosity got the better of me.

"Not really." Fang mumbled back. "Maya woke up, then I couldn't get back to sleep after that."

"So you're functioning on 3 hours of sleep?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, though. I'll probably crash tonight." I sped up to catch up with Gazzy and Nudge.

During second period, I elbowed Nudge. She looked up, stopping whatever she was writing. "Why is Fang so quiet?" I asked, hoping not to disrupt the teacher.

"Ask Ig." She said. "He was really guarded when he first got here, not talking at all, barley speaking when asked a question. He's doing a lot better, now." I gave her a 'you're kidding' look, causing her to laugh. "No, really. It used to be all one or two word answers. And he'd never show emotion. It was kind of scary. But he'd been through a lot.

"Rumours went around: his mom was a drunk, his dad hit him a lot, he was on crack... it was horrible what people said about him. But there was one that got to him a lot," she paused, looking up at the teacher, who had his back to us. "Someone said that he had a little sister, and that they didn't get along much. I don't think it's true, though. They said they fought, _a lot,_ then one day he just snapped, and he..." she hesitated, as if she really didn't want to tell me. "...he knifed her. Fang was _pissed._ He'd only been here for a couple of months, but he didn't really listen to any of the rumours that went around. But that one bothered him. He was darker than usual, and he flipped on the guy who started it. Only Iggy knows why it bothered him so much. But Iggy doesn't really like telling Fang's business to anyone, so I think you should ask Fang. He might tell you. I doubt it though."

"Does he actually have a sister?" I asked, wondering if that's who the little girl was.

"You ask a lot of questions." I shrugged. "Yeah, he does." I dropped the subject after that, waiting for the period to end.

When it finally did, I bolted out of there, rushing to find Iggy. I bumped into him at his locker. I fell back, landing on my butt.

"You know, this is how we met." He laughed as he hoisted me up. I glared at him. "What'd you want?" He asked.

"Fang..." I panted, out of breath from the running around.

"You want Fang?" He asked, a small smirk on his face. "Uh... I guess you didn't notice, but he isn't here." I rolled my eyes.

"No, I mean..." I tried to figure out exactly how to word it. "What happened to him?" Iggy looked puzzled for a second, before he sighed.

"Nudge told you to come to me, right?" After a second, I nodded. "Yeah... Look, Max. You seem nice. But I can't tell you, not..." He looked around. "Come on." He took my arm, leading me down the hall, and into a empty classroom. "What do you want to know? I'm not telling you everything though."

"Okay..." I thought for a second. "That little girl, what is he to her?"

"A guardian. To her and her sister. Well, her sister, Maya, he's her 'dad' that's what she knows him as."

"So, they're not actually related in any way?" He shook his head.

"There was an accident a few years ago, when Fang first got here, a fire, and he helped the two of them out. The parents of the girls never turned up, but Fang doesn't know what happened to them, so he just took them in. They've been with him ever since."

"But Fang lives by himself, with the girls. There isn't any adult figure in the house?"

"No. He doesn't live with his parents, he... moved out when he was 16." I remembered the short conversation I'd had with Fang. _I moved here mid grade 10..._ He would've been about 16 at the time.

"So, why didn't he take the girls to a–"

"Max, don't judge his actions." Iggy had a hard look on his face, one that I hadn't seen on him before. "He loves those girls, more than anything." I nodded, waiting a second before asking another question.

"There was a rumour..." I started, "when he first got here, about his sister..." Iggy nodded, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "What... why was he so mad?"

"Fang..." He paused, his eyes glazing over for a second, before returning to the glossy blue. "That's not my business to tell you. It's personal to him. It wouldn't be right for me to tell you." I nodded in understanding.

"He's not quiet with you, why?"

"Max, why are you asking so many questions?" I shrugged, standing.

"I just... wanted to know why he's so quiet all the time. Nudge said you knew. I just thought there was a story behind all of it." I turned around, heading for the door.

"Max, wait." Iggy sighed. I looked over my shoulder, seeing him standing. "There is, but I don't think I'd be the person who should tell you."

"But... there _is_ something with him?"

"He's not crazy, Max." He chuckled. "He's not on anything either."

"I didn't–"

"I know you didn't. Come on, let's go to lunch." I shrugged, opening the door and stepping back into the hallway. "You asked me why he tolerates me more so than others." He said while we were walking towards the cafeteria. I looked up at him, wondering suddenly why he was so tall. "It's because I didn't bother him about his past. He told me he didn't really want to talk about it, so I didn't ask him. I think that's why, because I left him alone."

"So, what you're saying is not to ask him, right?"

"No, I'm just saying you might want to ask him when he's alone, and prepare yourself for the answer, whatever it is." He pushed the door open, and we were instantly met with a bunch of chatter. Iggy and I quickly found our friends, falling into deep conversation.

It was third period when I finally got Fang alone. He was wandering the halls, and I was looking for a bathroom. "Hi, what are you doing out of class?" I asked. He'd had his head down, hands in his pockets, but he looked up at me now.

"Walking." He stated in a 'duh' tone. "You?" I shrugged.

"Bathroom." He pointed behind him, down the hall.

"The first left." I nodded, flashing him a smile. He continued walking, passing me silently.

"Do you have a sister?" I suddenly blurted, whirling around. He froze. I looked at my hands, then turned around to face him.

"Why?" Was all he said. I took a breath, looking up at him. I winced. His eyes had gone almost pitch black, which was blacker than usual, his jaw was set, and there was a dark look on his face.

"I'm sorry, I..." I stuttered. The look he was giving me was staring to scare me. "I was just curious. Why are you so quiet?"

"What does that have to do with my sister?" He asked, losing his guard for a second.

"Ha!" I said, standing straight and crossing my arms, "You _do_ have a sister." I smirked.

"No, I don't."

"Yeah you do. You just said–" He stepped forward.

"I don't have a sister, Max." He locked eyes with me, his tone dead-serious. "Really. Why do you care?"

"I asked Iggy and Nudge. There... was this rumour, about you and your sister, you were really mad about it. Why? If you don't have a sister then why get so mad at–" I realized the reason as I said it. "I'm sorry."

Fang's face softened, and he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "She was kidnapped, a few years ago, and she wasn't found. They told us she was dead. I was the last one with her before she went missing." He paused a second, looking over his shoulder. "We were yelling at each other. The last thing she said to me was that she wanted me to die, then she ran off. No one knows what happened to her."

I swallowed slowly, not knowing what to say. 'I'm sorry' just wouldn't be right. "Fang..."

"I tried to find her, but I couldn't. She was gone. I told myself I'd killed her. That's why it got to me so much."

"Fang, I shouldn't have–"

"You didn't know. It's okay." He shrugged, suddenly looking lost. I opened my mouth, but he was gone before I could say anything. I ran my hands over my face, thinking back to what Iggy had said. '_prepare yourself for the answer, whatever it is.'_ Man, this wasn't even close to what I'd expected.

I didn't talk to Fang for the rest of the day, or the next day. It was always awkward whenever we were in a room together, no matter the distance. We both wanted to say something to the other. I would always catch him glancing at me, when he thought I wasn't looking.

Iggy came up to me during lunch that day. "I told you, Max. It wasn't what you were expecting, was it?" I shook my head.

"Not even close."

"And what did you learn from this?" He asked, going suddenly serious. I thought about that for a few seconds.

"That... he isn't what everyone else thinks he is." I looked past Iggy, to where Fang was sitting with Nudge. "That the real Fang is in there somewhere," I locked eyes with Iggy. "And I'm gonna find him. No matter what."

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**Poor Fang. His. Life. Sucks. End of story.**

**Sometimes I love my friends. And their parents.**

**See, I was with my friend, his brother, and their friend. (The two brothers, followed by a friend of theirs [whom I'd only met like twice]) and they were going around the house yelling 'Bieber my balls!' while wearing 3D glasses. (So it was actually 'Bieber my 3D balls!, but skipping that) and the twins' mom walked in, and then we all had this talk about why they shouldn't say that. Especially with their sister around.**

**It was fricken hilarious!**

**Can I get 5 reviews. Love you! (In a non- creeper way, of course.)**


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